BAGHDAD: As Iraqi forces battled Daesh, former general Abdel Karim Khalaf came to a sad realization — they were fighting against some of his former army comrades.
The tactics Daesh terrorists used — from the way they dug tunnels to their construction of defenses — were lifted straight from the manual of the old Iraqi armed forces under dictator Saddam Hussein.
“They had expertise and methods inherited from the army,” said retired army commander Khalaf. “They knew us.”
When the US-led invasion toppled Saddam 15 years ago in 2003 it splintered Iraqi society and fractured loyalties among those who had served in the country’s armed forces.
One of the first decisions made by Paul Bremmer, the American head of the occupation authority, was to dismantle all security forces in the country.
That controversial move would come back to haunt US-led forces as it pushed many members of Iraq’s disbanded military, police and intelligence agencies to join movements fighting against them.
“Saddam-era military expertise was critical to the development of the insurgency,” said Fanar Haddad, an Iraq expert at the Middle East Institute.
The seepage of knowledge from Iraq’s former security forces into the insurgency came to devastating fruition when Daesh stormed across Iraq and northern Syria in 2014.
Among the group’s leadership were veterans of Saddam’s forces who put their training to use conquering territory and running the self-declared “caliphate.”
Former Republican Guard officer Fadel Ahmad Al-Hayali was second-in-command to Daesh chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi until he was killed in an October 2015 airstrike near Mosul in northern Iraq, the US has said.
As Baghdadi’s deputy, he was in charge of arms transfers, explosives, vehicles and people between Iraq and Syria. Another veteran was Samir Abd Muhammad Al-Khlifawi, called the group’s “most important strategist” by German weekly Der Spiegel.
Using the nom de guerre Hajji Bakr, the former air force intelligence officer helped devise plans used by the group to take control of northern Syria before he was killed by rebels in 2014.
Hisham Al-Hashemi, an expert on jihadist movements, said these were not isolated examples as Daesh filled its military and security bodies with former Saddam-era officers.
When the government launched its gruelling fight back against Daesh, it too relied on officials from the previous regime.
Key commanders, including the leaders of Iraq’s elite counterterrorism units, were “former soldiers under Saddam” who had been reintegrated into the forces set up after the 2003 invasion, Hashemi said.
With a US-led coalition backing them up in the skies above, Iraqi forces overcame their opponents after a protracted and bloody campaign that saw some of the world’s fiercest urban fighting in decades.
Ultimately the familiarity between the two sides gave Baghdad a key advantage that allowed it to declared victory over Daesh at the end of last year.
“The army won because they knew IS (Daesh) used the methods of Saddam Hussein’s special forces and were able to anticipate their movements,” Hashemi said.
Beating back Daesh has been hailed as a major turning point for Iraqi forces that retreated in disarray when the terrorists first struck in 2014.
The brutal fight was the latest — and most vicious — testing ground for capabilities honed in the 15 years of chaos since the ouster of Saddam.
For former general Khalaf the triumph was also at least in part down to the know-how gleaned by the armed forces back before the US-led invasion turned Iraq on its head.
“Iraqi forces knew the nature of the battle and the geography of the terrain,” he said.
“We understood how the enemy fought, and all of this came from reflexes acquired in the army.” 
Daesh ‘expertise, methods inherited from Iraq army’
Daesh ‘expertise, methods inherited from Iraq army’
Israeli army says body of soldier missing for 43 years found in ‘heart of Syria’
“In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel,” the army said in a statement.
Iran, US to hold 4th round of talks as enrichment concerns grow
- Iran FM says hopes fourth round of talks with US reaches ‘decisive point’
- Araghchi said Tehran's right to enrich uranium was ‘non-negotiable’
MUSCAT: Iran and the United States are set to attend a fourth round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program on Sunday, as US officials have voiced increasing opposition to Iranian enrichment.
The negotiations, mediated by Oman and held in its capital Muscat, follow earlier rounds that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Both sides have reported progress after previous talks, but there have been some delays and disagreements over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says is “non-negotiable” but a US envoy has called a “red line.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ahead of Sunday’s meeting that “the negotiations are progressing and, naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and considerations we need” and the more time is required “to review the issues raised.”
The fourth round was initially set to take place on May 3 but has been rescheduled. Mediator Oman cited “logistical reasons” for the delay, which was announced after the United States had imposed new sanctions on Iran.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, a claim Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60-percent purity — far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal with the United States and other world powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington’s delegation to the Omani-mediated talks, said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled.”
“That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told US right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
Witkoff said that if the talks “are not productive... they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route.”
Trump has said he wanted “total verification” that Iran’s contested nuclear work is shut down, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that Tehran give up all uranium enrichment.
Araghchi, Tehran’s chief negotiator in previous rounds, has repeatedly defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium.
NUCLEAR DEAL
Iran adhered to the 2015 agreement for a year after Washington’s withdrawal before beginning to roll back its compliance.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.
The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and the pace of its enrichment activities.
European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the Iran-US talks, has called for Tehran’s nuclear facilities to be dismantled and for its ballistic missile program to be stopped as part of any credible deal.
Tehran has insisted that the talks be solely focused on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions, ruling out negotiations on military capabilities.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that Iran’s delegation “consists of the experts and specialists needed at this stage of the talks, serving the highest interests of our country.”
Sunday’s meeting comes days ahead of a regional tour by Trump, which will take him to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
UAE exempts Sudanese nationals from residency, visa fines
- The authority clarified that this decision takes effect on May 19, 2025
DUBAI: The UAE announced on Saturday that Sudanese nationals would be exempt from paying outstanding residency or visa fines.
A statement released by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security said: “The decision aligns with the UAE’s long-standing commitment to supporting brotherly nations and offering humanitarian aid during crises.”
The move underlines the country’s role in promoting humanity and peace, it added.
The decision will come into effect on May 19 and remain valid until the end of 2025.
Sudanese nationals with outstanding fines can regularize their status and submit renewal applications via the ICP’s official digital platforms. Any fines incurred will be waived.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 10 people, mostly women and children
- Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents
- Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 10 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child and a man riding a bicycle, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies from all the strikes.
Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.
Aid groups say food supplies are running low and hunger is widespread.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes.
US President Donald Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour that will not include Israel.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90 percent of its population of around 2 million.
Fires at key Sudan fuel depot ‘fully contained
- A military source told AFP on condition of anonymity on Saturday that air defenses in the towns of Jebeit and Sinkat
- Port Sudan is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan and UN chief Antonio Guterres
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s civil defense forces said on Sunday they had “fully contained” fires that erupted at the main fuel depot and other strategic sites in Port Sudan — the seat of the army-backed government which has come under drone attacks blamed on paramilitaries over the past week.
In a statement posted on the force’s Facebook page, civil defense director Osman Atta said the fires — involving “large quantities of petroleum reserves” — were brought under control following an intensive operation using “foam materials” and a “meticulously executed plan.”
The fires caused by a strike on the fuel depot last Monday had spread across “warehouses filled with fuel,” the Sudanese army-aligned authorities said, warning of a “potential disaster in the area.”
The Red Sea port city, which had been seen as a safe haven from the devastating two-year conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has been hit by daily drone strikes since last Sunday.
The long-range attacks have damaged several key facilities, including the country’s sole international civilian airport, its largest working fuel depot and the city’s main power station.
A military source told AFP on condition of anonymity on Saturday that air defenses in the towns of Jebeit and Sinkat — around 120 kilometers west of Port Sudan — shot down two drones that had been targeting facilities in the area.
Witnesses also reported on Sunday drone strikes targeting the airport in Atbara, a city in the northern state of River Nile.
Port Sudan is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan and UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the attacks “threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the country,” his spokesman said.
More than two years of fighting have killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million in what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
